Nike supports USAID-sponsored projects

Printeremail

Today Nike celebrated the grand opening of their soccer center in Soweto, South Africa. The training facility is a gift to the communities of Soweto and Johannesburg. The designer of the community, Andy Walker, stated that the facility was a “monolithic temple for football” and that it was his hope that the facility would “give inspiration and aspiration to the local community.” Nike hopes that through this facility the youth of Soweto would find the inspiration to reach their full potential not only as athletes, but in their lives as whole, through the creation of a safe place for the youths to come together through soccer. The center houses two USAID-associated project groups--Grassroots Soccer, a NGO that coaches children in football, and Right to Care. The facility amazingly integrated both HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment into the site. The main hope that springs from the facility is that it will create a legacy for future generations. This amazing center promotes the true amazing qualities of soccer, that it is a unifier of people, allowing them to realize that they have the ability to not only reach their full potential as individuals but also as a community. The facility’s bright lights shine though Soweto bringing light to the previously darkened corners.